There is a basic truth about humanity that smacks full speed into Biblical reality. We think and feel that we’re good. That all (or most) of our thoughts, actions, and desires are good. We are right. We are just. We are dead wrong.
The reality exposed in the Bible is that we all sin. That is the conclusion Paul has been steadily driving toward in the first chapters of Romans. Today, we are unwrapping that conclusion and its antidote from Romans 3:9-31.
“What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.” (Romans 3:9–12, CSB)
In verses 10 -18, Paul pulls from various verses of the Old Testament to make his point that no one is righteous, not even one. The last stanza of Paul’s recitation is perhaps the most damning and insightful of all. There is no fear of God before their eyes. That is why everyone thinks they are good or doing good when they are not. Our measure of good is a countless list of things other than God.
Neither does Paul leave out those who look to the Law of Moses to justify themselves. “Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment. For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.” (Romans 3:19–20, CSB) The law can’t save or justify; it can only convict.
We see that the law’s purpose is evident. No one is arrested and hauled before the court for keeping the law. The law’s purpose is to set boundaries and punish those who push beyond them. No one is justified by the law, no matter how well it is kept.
But now. Or you could say, but God. No one has been or could be righteous before God. But God made the way. “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, CSB)
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but we are freely justified by grace through the redemption of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all, the just for the unjust. “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a law of faith.” (Romans 3:27, CSB) We cannot boast; we did not earn our redemption. Jesus paid it all. Those who put their faith in Jesus are justified before God. A law of faith instead of a law of works. “Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” (Romans 3:31, CSB)
What applications do you see? I see a call to humility. We cannot boast of our redemption, but we are to proclaim it. All have sinned; all need to hear of God’s grace. I also see a call to honesty. I need to examine that thing I easily call good and just, but never seek God about it. Those places I fear people more than God. Anytime we place fear of anything ahead of our fear of God, we are in dangerous territory. Fear of loss, fear of reputation, fear of missing out, fear of rejection, fear of our own pain, for instance. And, of course, the greatest application is placing our faith in Jesus Christ for our redemption through the grace of God. Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
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